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(No Model.)

S. E. NORTON.

METHOD OF AND DIE FOR CUTTING OUT SHEET METAL BLANKS.

No. 304,352.- I Patented Sept. 2, 1884.

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Nrrne TATES ATENT FFICEO SERENO E. NORTON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ED\VIN NORTON AND OLIVER \V. NORTON, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

METHOD OF AND DIE FOR CUTTING OUT SHEET-METAL BLANKS.

SE ECEFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 304,352, datedSeptember 2, 1884.

Application filed November 12, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SERnNo E. NORTON, a citizen of the United States,residing in Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improve ment in the Method of and Dies forCutting out Sheet-Metal Blanks, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in the method or process ofcutting out the can heads or ends from a sheet of metal, and in the diesemployed for this purpose.

Heretofore in the manufacture of sheetmetal cans circular heads or endshave been cut out one by one from the sheet of metal by means of asingle die, the operator having to move the sheet into a differentposition for every head cut. Considerable skill is also required on thepart of the operator to adjust the sheet into proper position at eachstroke of'the die, so as not to waste the stock or form imperfect heads,because if the sheet, for cX- ample, is just large enough, say, to maketen heads, if the operator at any one stroke of the die getsthe sheet alittle out of its proper position, the remaining stock will not be largeenough to make perfect heads.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cheaper, better, andmore expeditious means of cutting out these heads; and to this end myinvention consists in cutting out each alternate head or blank from thesheet at one operation by means of a set of alternately-arrangedgang-dies, and then reversing the sheet and cutting out the remaininghalf of the heads or blanks at a second stroke of thealternately-grouped dies. Stops or guides are provided on the bed-plate,so that the sheet may be accurately adjusted 'to its position at bothstrokes of the dies. Instead of turning the'sheet end for end andinserting it under the same dies to cut out the second alternate seriesof heads, the sheet may of course be inserted under a second set ofalternatelygrouped gang-dies oppositely arranged. Each separate male dieof the group is independently secured in the head-plate by means ofscrew -threads or otherwise, and the corre-. sponding female dies arealso independently secured in the bed-plate by similar means, so

that each die may be separately removed for repairs, or replaced by anew one in case it should be broken. As the dies are arrangedalternately with vacant intervening spaces, the sheet may be out withoutwaste, the same as if each head were cut out separately from the sheet.

Heretofore attempts have been made to use gang-dies, but they have beenarranged solidly instead of alternately; but their use has been foundimpracticable, because of the unavoidable waste in the stock, ifremovable dies In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate likeparts, I.

have shown as illustrative of my invention in Figure 1 a side elevationof a set of gang-dies; in Fig. 2, a plan view of the female dies; Fig.3, a bottom view of the male dies; Fig. 4, a

plan view of the sheet after each alternate head hasbeen cut out of itby the first stroke of the gang-dies, and in Fig. 5 asimilar View of thesheet after the remaining half of the heads has been cut out by thesecond stroke of the dies.

In said drawings, A represents the. guides of the press, in which themovable head B reciprocates. The male dies 0 are removably secured to ahead-plate, c, by means of screwthreads or other suitable means, and arearrangedalternately on said head-plate, so as to cut out only eachalternate head from the sheet D.

O are the corresponding female dies, als removably secured to abed-plate, c, by means of screw-threads, so that they may be readilytaken out for repairs and replaced by new ones if broken. The femaledies G are,

, of course, also arranged alternately the same as the male dies 0. Thebed-plate c is provided on one side and end with projections or guidesd, for the sheet to abut against, so that the operator may readily andquickly place the sheet accurately in position under the dies.

In operation the sheet is placed under the dies with its edges againstthe steps or guides d, and by one stroke of the dies each alternate headis cut out. Then the sheet is reversed or turned end for end and asecond time inserted under the dies, the guides 01 again serving toadjust it in position, and by a second stroke the remaining heads aresevered from the sheet. Instead of reversing the sheet and inserting ita second time under the same dies, the remaining heads may, of course,be cut out by placing it under another set of gangdies oppositelyarranged. The hcad-p1ate c and the bed-plate c are secured to the head13 and bed D, respectively, by means of screws or bolts. Any number ofdies desired may be arranged thus alternately in a group or gang; but Ideem it preferable to employ just enough dies in a group to sever at oneblow one-half the heads in the sheet of the size used, so that thenumber of dies which it is desirable to employ in one group willordinarily in practice somewhat depend upon the size of the heads to becut from the sheet. In this way all the heads will be cut from the sheetat just two strokes or operations of the press. If desired, however, aless number of dies than necessary to cut out one-half the heads fromthe sheet may, of course, be employed in the gang or group.

By means of my invention one operator, as will be readily understood,can do as much work as six or eight men can do with the ordinary singledies heretofore in usethat is to say, if six or eight dies are arrangedin the group, and proportionately, also, with a greater or less number;and in addition to this advantage better work can be done, as the sheetcomes in the same position under the dies at each stroke, and can,therefore, always be governed by the edges of the sheet abutting againstthe fixed stops, which is not the case when the heads are cut out one byone, and the sheet has to be moved into difl'erent positions for eachsuccessive stroke. For this reason there is much less danger of wastingthe stock by cutting out a head in the wrong place, and the heads canalso be cut with even less margin of waste between the contiguous heads.Another great saving by use of my invention is in the greatly-diminishednumber of presses required, though of course a somewhat larger andstronger press will be required to operate my set of gang-dies than isnecessary to operate the ordinary single die.

"It will of course be understood that my in- Vention is also adapted forother analogous uses than cutting out round or other shaped can-heads,and that it is equally well adapted for cutting any other kind of blanksfrom a sheet.

It is an essential feature of my invention that the dies be arranged sothat the intermediate vacant spaces between each two contiguous dies bejust largeenough for a blank, so that the alternate blanks being cut outat each stroke of the press,- the whole sheet, or the whole of thatportion of it covered by the group of dies, will be used up or cut intoblanks by two strokes of the press. By this alternate arrangement of thedies with intermediate spaces for the blanks between them, I obtain roomto attach the dies to the bed-plate, so that they may be independentlyremoved, and still the thickness of the female dies in no way interfereswith cutting the sheet up without waste, the same as if the blanks werecut out one at a time by a press with a single pair of dies. v

What I claim is- 1. The method of cutting out blanks from a sheet ofmetal with dies, consisting, first, in simultaneouslycutting two or morerows of blanks in such manner that uncut portions equal to the width ofone blank shall remain between the spaces left by the cut-out blanks,and that in adjacent rows the cut-out parts shall alternate with thosenot out out, and in then readjusting the sheet and cutting out at asecond operation the blanks left in such uncut portions, substantiallyas specified.

2. In a press, the combination,with the bedplate and the head-plate orplunger, of aseries of female dies secured to one of said plates, and aseries ofcorresponding male dies secured to the other and fitting withinsaid female dies, said dies on each plate being arranged in two or morerows with spaces equal to the width of one blank between the separatedies in each row, and the dies in the one row alternating wit-h those inthe adjacent row, substantially as specified.

SERENO E. NORTON.

\Vitnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, H. M. MUNDAY.

